Post Covid B12 and Vitamin D crash

[Skater21]

Hi,I have had multiple health problems since my first bout of Covid in 2022, and blood panels revealed low B12, D and very low ferritin (11). I started having B12 injections and got my ferritin to 159 and my folate up to 45 from 5. I was feeling healthy and many of my symptoms had stopped. I had been able to bring my B12 injections down to every 8 weeks.

I have now just had Covid again and B12 and Vitamin D has crashed and all my symptoms are back, as well as changes in my total iron, thyroid and a massive drop in oestrogen. It's very overwhelming trying to fix it all over again!

I am back on weekly B12 (I have mine privately so that's the most I can afford) but I know must address my Vit D too, as ive read articles saying that it can contribute to low B12 as well as causing all its own problems.

I have been offered vit D injection and I'm just wondering if anyone has experience with this, it's a huge dose and makes me slightly nervous.

Any other experience on treating post Covid crashes on their blood panel would also be really useful.

My symptoms are extreme fatigue, tingling fingertips that are sometimes numb, hair loss, slow metabolism. I did have insomnia but it's massively improved since taking Magnesium Threonate.

[Technoid]

What is your vitamin D at and what is your normal vitamin D supplementation dose?

[Skater21 in reply to Technoid]

Hi, My Vit D was skimming along at 60 for ages and the B12 injections seemed to be keeping all of my symptoms at bay so I haven't been supplementing D at all. Since Covid it has dropped to 35 and everything has gone so haywire I no longer know which deficiency is causing what! I am now using a Vit D spray 4000iu per day with K2. But the nurse practitioner I see for injections says it will take a long time to raise it that way.

[Technoid in reply to Skater21]

There isn't a lot of evidence that raising Vitamin D levels to a specific level has much health benefits unfortunately. Low Vitamin D is often a marker of general ill-health but treating Vitamin D of itself does not seem not seem to be all that useful. Still, with a quite low level, its probably no harm to raise it a bit and 4,000IU will certainly do it. Probably need to monitor if that needs to be reduced in some time. Daily dosages are better to raise levels than massive, less frequent dosages as are sometimes used in prescription vitamin D.

[Skater21 in reply to Technoid]

Thanks 👍 So maybe not worth having the injection then, which is a huge dose of 300,000. I was hoping to just get some sun but there isn't any! Maybe I also need to increase my B12 to more than weekly if I can. It took me so so long to correct the mess Covid made last time and now here I am again. I am just desperate for it to not take 2 years this time.

[Technoid in reply to Skater21]

According to UK figures (there is a lot of variance is whats considered deficient), your level is in the "insufficient" range rather than in the severe deficiency range. I am not a physician nor have clinical training but in my opinion a high strength supplement like you described should help to raise levels. Remember that vitamin D is fat soluble so supplementing after a meal that has a reasonable amount of healthy fat should help absorption.

[Technoid in reply to Technoid]

m.youtube.com/watch?v=4Az0C...(Not working as expected?)

[Skater21 in reply to Technoid]

Thanks that's interesting. There does seem to be a fair amount of evidence that people with low Vit D have higher incidences of serious and lasting Covid. I wonder if that's just protective, and taking it afterwards is too late. Still no harm in raising it though as you say, I'm trying it as part of a multi pronged approach! I suspect my B12 has actually crashed as my result is not reliable as I had recently had an injection. So continuing B12 jabs are most likely to be helpful, but I figure the most support I can give my body for recovery the better.

[Technoid in reply to Skater21]

" There does seem to be a fair amount of evidence that people with low Vit D have higher incidences of serious and lasting Covid"

This is a correlation though and is likely not causal. As I said, low vitamin D is often a marker of general ill-health. Straying off-topic here but treatment with D has not been effective versus COVID in well-run randomized clinical trials. Not saying you shouldnt keep your vitamin D levels out of deficiency, just don't expect miracles by so doing.

[Skater21 in reply to Technoid]

Yeah I see what you're saying. I am not hanging all my hopes for recovery on it. It's just one of the ducks I feel like I ought to get in line to try and have a better health profile.

[Technoid in reply to Skater21]

Sure thing. Won't do any harm to boost it a bit.

I almost never miss my vitamin D supplement myself 😁

[MrsTuft]

Every time I’ve had Covid my oestrogen, folate, vit d and iron stores crash. It takes months to sort out. Then it happens again - three times now. Exhausting. But just have to deal with what’s in front of you. Impossible to not catch it.

[Skater21 in reply to MrsTuft]

I feel your pain! This is only the second time for me and I was hoping it wouldn't crash everything at the same time like last time but it's just as bad. My oestrogen has crashed too, I wasn't even looking for that. Do you mind me asking what your symptoms are? Do you have hair loss? Mine is massive.

[MrsTuft in reply to Skater21]

The oestrogen crash meant that all my menopause symptoms came back (I had my ovaries removed so rely on HRT) - the night sweats and insomnia were totally debilitating. Various nutrients crashing made me very fatigued and my hair was falling out. Each dose of Covid had its own symptoms - the first was three months of headaches, the second was 14 months of coughing up what looked like glue, the last was hair falling out. And for tithes it’s like a cold?! 😬

[Skater21 in reply to MrsTuft]

Yes it's like a crazy lottery! I had vile insomnia and night sweats the first time around. And a migraine that lasted weeks. Then the hair loss started a few weeks after. This time I feel like I have cement in my chest, am really fatigued and the hair loss started immediately. Last time the hair loss stopped eventually with regular B12 injections and boosting my ferritin. So I'm trying that again. It's only just grown back after two years !!! And now it's going again. Bloody Covid.

[MrsTuft in reply to Skater21]

Happy to chat anytime. I don’t know too many people who’ve been hit so hard and oddly by covid. May it pass and we be well again. It’s hard enough with PA!

[Skater21 in reply to MrsTuft]

Absolutely, back at you. I don't know many either and it makes you feel like you're going a bit mad when other people dance through it without lasting problems. It's hard to explain my complete despair to people, when it takes so long to recover and then you're back to square one. Plus working a bit in the dark as every experience is a bit different. So I'm not sure if the same measures will help this time!

[MrsTuft in reply to Skater21]

Every time my hrt crashes, I’m fatigued for months, my menopause symptoms return etc. but the first time I had months of headaches, the second I coughed what looked like glue and was breathless with fast heart rate and the most recent my hair fell out. I do know other women in surgical meno it’s happened to but in my day to day life i know has no symptoms or are fine in two weeks. 😩 Are you in normal peri or meno then?

[Skater21 in reply to MrsTuft]

I don't really know. I think I'm in peri. I don't know how much effect that has had but immediately after the Covid I had the worst period of my life. Literally sobbing in pain and ridiculously heavy. It's so difficult to untangle it all.

[MrsTuft in reply to Skater21]

All I know is that Covid can temporarily stop periods in younger women and stop ability to absorb HRT in others. Peri itself can cause horrific periods.

[Skater21 in reply to MrsTuft]

I feel like is there anything that Covid can't mess up?? I try to focus more on the nutritional angle because I can't take HRT or any hormonal treatment so although I know hormones are involved, I feel a bit helpless on that front. I also know that my thyroid sometimes runs sub optimally and sometimes better but I don't know what changes it!

[MrsTuft in reply to Skater21]

It's pretty across the board in its decimation. Gah! Why can't you have hormones? Low thyroid isn't going to help....

[Skater21 in reply to MrsTuft]

Supplemental oestrogen gives me unbearable migraines, it's why I couldn't take the pill. I tried the progesterone only one and then got acne, weight gain and hair loss!! So I gave up. The annoying thing is that I've been through periods of relative health when it feels like everything is back in balance but I'm never sure what the key was and eventually something like Covid will shake it all up again. I think the B12 jabs are the nearest thing I've found to something that really helps me. I've had two since Covid this time with no response at all so I think it's going to be a long road...

[MrsTuft in reply to Skater21]

There is a world of difference between the synthetic oestrogen (causes migraines) and progestins (raises breast cancer risk) of the Pill and natural body identical HRT which is natural estradiol and progesterone in the same form we make in our body. I could never take any form of 'The Pill' but I am so much better on HRT patches for oestrogen and utrogestan oral progesterone. I wouldn't write it off. How often do you SI? x

[Skater21 in reply to MrsTuft]

Thanks that's very interesting. It was my Dr that told me I wouldn't ever be able to take any form of HRT, but then my GP surgery is notoriously bad, people literally choose different villages to move to partly for that reason! So I've been pretty much on my own with my health issues for 13 years. I don't SI, I go to a nurse practitioner (private) once a week at the moment. In the past once a week for six weeks then once a month has been about right going from symptoms. Since Covid I suspect I've gone so low it's going to need more. At moment once a week seems to be doing nothing How often do you have it?

[MrsTuft in reply to Skater21]

They give out the pill like sweets and it’s synthetic and comes with clot and cancer issues never mind the side effects but modern body identical HRT is made from yams and totally identical to what our bodies make. I’d recommend to book to see a private menopause specialist. Estradot patches are a good place to start if you have migraine. If you have a womb you’ll need Utrogestan natural progesterone too or the coil. Covid depleted me so much I’m SI daily. X

[JHEW0836]

I have commented on here quite a few times regarding COVID causing my B12 deficiency by attacking my digestive system. I had it at the end of 2021 and I’m still trying to sort out all of the other deficiencies it has caused.

Seeing a nutritionist has helped me tremendously as well as a very good hematologist who listens to me. My stomach and bowels are still not right, things are better but I am still by no means back to normal. Even after 2.5 years. I also had it again in July of 2022, which didn’t help because I was still having issues from the first time I had it. I pray I don’t get it again but I’m sure it’s inevitable.

I hope you can get everything back in balance again, as that gives me hope that I can too.

[Skater21 in reply to JHEW0836]

Thanks. I feel the same, that I was just getting there after over two years and then I got it again. It's so incredibly frustrating. I'm really glad you have a nutritionist who is being helpful for you. The woman who does my B12 jabs is quite knowledgeable and helps me where she can. It's like trying to fix a puzzle with so many pieces and only really the information I can get from a blood test and the internet.